The Cultist is Coming

I’ve been working on a “more generically shadowy” Warlock remix, which I’m calling the Cultist. Why “Cultist?” Well, curiously enough, the term cultist is a bit more benign in definition than it usually gets credit for…

“A follower of a religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.”

The thing is, there was a time when all religions were cults… and it’s only through persistence and the weathering of persecution that any religion has achieved the condition wherein it can apply the term “cult” to other such groups.

The root of “cult” comes from “to cultivate,” as in agriculture. This is essentially what a cult — or any religious organization, by extension — does: cultivates a particular set of beliefs, whether they pertain to this world or “the next.”

And there’s nothing inherently wrong with that.

You know, until it leads to oppression and bloodshed and all that.

Of course the point here is to make the Cultist class unilaterally “mysterious,” and totally up to individual interpretation. For that, we have Dark Beckoning:

Dark Beckoning [Shadow]Free action * At-will * Close burst 10Trigger: You reduce an enemy to 0 hit points or an enemy adjacent to you drops to 0 hit points.Target: One, two, or three enemies in burst.Effect: You pull each target up to 3 squares.Special: You can use this power only once per turn.

What does the Cultist do once he pulls you closer? Good question! But not one I’m about to answer right now! You’ll have to come back later — in the next day or so — and check it out when I post the complete Heroic tier Cultist!